Dean Lewis at Hammersmith Apollo
In front of a sold-out Eventim Apollo, Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis opened the first of his two London shows with the same electrifying energy and heartfelt vulnerability that he’s become renowned for. Wasting no time, he immediately captured the crowd’s attention with Empire, the lead single from his latest album, The Epilogue, setting the tone for the rest of an unforgettable evening.
He kept the excitement alive as he launched into the chorus of Hold of Me, singing to the auditorium “Cause your past is your past / Oh babe, you’ve got a hold of me”. A change of pace soon came with a stripped-back rendition of All I Ever Wanted, with Lewis accompanied by a delicate violin arrangement. As he sang, “All I ever wanted / Was to love you like you loved me when nobody else was watching,” the audience mirrored his emotion, singing along in unison.
Fans were treated to songs from his third album, Memories and Cold, before he returned to old favourites, Chemicals and Stay Awake. The cheers only grew louder when Lewis surprised the audience with a cover of Gracie Abrams’s It’s So True, offering a fresh take on the viral track.
Disappearing from the stage to surprise those seated in The Circle, Lewis delivered a masterclass in rousing ballads and soaring melodies with Half a Man and The Last Bit of Us. But it was Waves, the song that launched his career, that truly sent the audience into a frenzy. As the opening notes rang out through the venue, deafening screams erupted, and with the crash of the cymbals, he was back on stage, ready to deliver the moment everyone had been waiting for.
Emotions reached their peak as he performed How Do I Say Goodbye, a poignant reflection on his struggles coming to terms with his father’s cancer diagnosis. Having flown in especially for the show, Lewis’s father was in the audience to watch his son sing, “How do I say goodbye / To someone who’s been with me for my whole damn life?”
As he came to the final songs of the evening, Dean declared this to be “the best show I’ve ever played in London in eight years, swear on my life’” before launching into the track that propelled him to global recognition, Be Alright. After expertly pulling the crowd into his world with 19 emotionally charged tracks, Lewis closed the show with the same raw honesty and unwavering passion that continues to define his career.
Alex Davis
Photos: Virginie Viche
For further information and future events visit Dean Lewis’s website here.
Watch the video for the single With You here:
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